A First Glance
by Cornadopia
Summary: She always knew, since the first look, since she was a homely, sickly little thing ... Prequel to "Mercutio and Allegra". Oneshot...ish.
1. Chapter 1 Allegra Hears Him

Hello and welcome =].

This is a side story/prequel to "Mercutio and Allegra", and it's meant to be what you people call a "oneshot". It's probably going to be more like three chapters long, though. The events here take place about three years before the events of MxA (which is set during 'Romeo and Juliet'), and are mentioned, I believe, a few times within MxA itself.

Anyway, you don't need to have read the whole thing to appreciate this; it's still a "Romeo and Juliet" fanfic, but the characters are a little younger and it takes place before.

Disclaimer: Yeah, I actually do own Shakespeare, believe it or not. I dug up his grave since after I finished MxA, dragged him home and added him to my collection of Shakespeare stuff, so now he's mine, all mine. -_- jk

Warning: Fluff. I guess.

Well, enjoy anyway. Please review. Reviews don't hurt at all. They're actually quite nice.

Love, love, love...

* * *

Allegra Capulet woke on Sunday morning to her brothers, yelling about something or other. Their footsteps could be heard outside her half-open door, in the Sunday morning-mode of running down the stairs to ready themselves for church. Allegra swallowed; it still burned her throat. She knew church was out of the question today.

Her head still felt like it carried a weight. She thought about the image. "I am not smart," she reminded herself. She thought about what her father would say if she were to ask him whether or not her brain was as heavy as a weight. He'd only remind her of how stupid she actually was. She sighed, glaring at the bright morning outside as though it were its fault. She was very stupid - _very stupid_.

She knew she was stupid. It was common knowledge to her, and to everyone in Verona (she was sure) how stupid Allegra Capulet was. Stupid all the time and sick most of the time. She was always sick, and today wasn't an exception. She'd grown to hate this bed, comfortable as it was, for holding her in its stuffy chamber all day. Eleven-year-old girls weren't supposed to be sick in bed all the time. They were supposed to run, to play, to laugh. Allegra couldn't run because she was a fat little thing who tired walking down the stairs in her home. She couldn't play; she had only three friends, but they didn't count for anything, for they were her cousins anyway. She couldn't laugh; well, she _could_, but she wasn't funny, even if people said so. They had to mean her appearance was funny. She was just too stupid.

'Daught-air? Allegra, darling, 'ast thou awakened?"

For some reason, Allegra jumped, and flopped down in her bed, pretending to be asleep again. She knew her mother was surely there when her hand clamped her forehead.

"Ah, Allegra!" gushed Antoinette Capulet, "thy fev-air 'ath not gone. Ah, when wilt zou 'eal? Alas, there ees no to-morrow..."

Allegra dared not open her eyes when she heard another voice - a man's.

"Antoinette, what now? 'Tis twenty after seven!" Her father entered her room. The weight of his steps caused Allegra's armoire to shake; he was a very large man indeed, which matched his gruff personality perfectly. Allegra felt his glare even without seeing it.

"Bah!" he said. "That child abed again! Will she ever grow up, Antoinette, or shall we spend our life savings on these foolish medications 'till she is married off?"

He laughed afterward. Clearly, Allegra getting married was a very funny idea.

Antoinette sighed. "Pray zee, my 'usband, she ees only a girl of ele-von. She ees not strong. It is a necessity, 'er 'ealth, _non_?"

"'_Oui_,'" her father said shortly, in a mocking sort of voice, "'tis a necessity, Antoinette, and an expensive one at that. Come, leave the child now. Where hath her nurse gone?"

"Why, 'usband, thou fired 'er a week ago."

"Oh. Yes, I did indeed. Needy lady, asking for so much a month." Her father scoffed. Her parents' voices were muffled as they exited into the hall. The door creaked as it closed. Allegra opened one eye, and then was forced by some magical power of comfort to close it again.

She awoke again what seemed to be a second later to what sounded like one of her brothers outside by the river, yelling and laughing in triumph. Actually, it was an hour and a half later, and it was neither of her brothers.

However, it _was_ a boy - one that Allegra was curious to see the moment she heard his laughter.


	2. Chapter 2 Allegra Finds Him

God send thee good e'en! (It's noon, I've just always wanted to say that).

Welcome back. Thanks to everyone who is out there reading this, and thanks to my wonderful reviewers. You make me smile.

Disclaimer: Yeah, sure. I don't own the story okay? I love Shakespeare, he's my soulmate, but "Romeo and Juliet" was his. -_-

By the way, while you read, please remember that Allegra is a child here. She has childish thoughts and chilidsh interests. She's a lot different than she is in the other stories, because she's older there.

Anyway, enjoy and feel free to share your opinion!

xoxoxo, Cornadopia

Allegra wasn't one to skip out an a tempting moment. She was the opposite and too much, completely obsessed with knowing everything. She didn't feel fufilled if she didn't. Her mother was the same way. Her brothers teased her for it. Her father yelled at her for it.

His voice was no exception. Of course, she didn't know who 'he' was, but the sound of his voice told her stories about him that she inhaled and sighed over. He was so loud, so amusing, and his voice was so throaty and boyish and thick that it sounded like he was crying and laughing at once. Ah, what music...

Still in her nightgown, she creaked open the door and snuck down the halls. She avoided any glance in the mirror at her hideous reflection, even though she didn't remember she was ugly at that moment. All she cared about was that boy. Even though she couldn't see him, the beats of her heart were making her feel sick, like she never felt before. She kept quiet, though inside, she screamed with excitment. She knew she was in love already.

The windows in the hall brought in the sound of his voice and others, ones Allegra recognized somewhere but didn't care about now. But where they were, where they were laughing and yelling and taunting, couldn't be seen through the windows. Allegra lived by the river Adige in a huge house with a large courtyard, quite in the middle of Verona's city-life. She crept by, but the people she saw on the street or across the river were not him. They did not have his smile.

She jumped when she heard what was, unmistakably, the voice of her brother Ricardo, who was fifteen. "Get thee out of Capulet land, thou scum, or I shall tell my father!"

"Why, go on then, Ricardo," came the voice in sing-song, "let us see if thy father is any better of a fighter than thou art - though anyone is better tham thou!"

He laughed, the voice. Others laughed, too. Allegra grinned to herself. He was a leader, he had to be. She always said she'd fall in love with a leader.

A gust of wind flew by. It reminded her of the call of his voice, maybe suggesting that he wanted her, sensed her as she did him. She followed the breeze down the hall and down the stairs, blinded by the sun and guiding by the image of his smile. She still heard his voice, its thickness, its warmth -

"BARK!"

Allegra screamed.

The world came tumbling around in on her in seconds. Her scraggly hair fell over her face. When she came to her senses and realized she'd fallen down the stairs, she heard him laughing from somehwere outside again. She winced; it seemed too much like he was laughing at her.

But she laughed herself upon seeing who had barked.

Mars stood there. Mars was a hound dog, and Allegra's best friend. He belonged to her father and loved him more, but Allegra knew Mars loved her too. He was the friendliest dog she'd ever met, and if not for him, Allegra would not have had a protector in the world.

He came over and nuzzled her with his cold nose. She laughed. She'd been frightened over Mars, of all things? Had she been in such a trance where all she heard was the boy outside?

"Thou frightened me, Mars," she said, ruffling his hair.

An idea suddenly came to her. "Mars," she said urgently, as though he could hear, "thou hast a stronger nose than I, and stronger ears. Canst thou lead me to those boys outside?"

Mars licked her. She beamed, for of course he meant yes.

"Thou _dost_ understand me, thou dear dog!" she laughed. "Of course thou wilt take me." She stood up, adjusting her hair. "Now, let us go."

They listened for any noise. Mars' ears perked up at one point and he looked to the left.

Allegra listened. She could hear some of their laughter again. "Ay, that's it - they're over there. No wonder I could not see them through the windows. Let us go hence."

They made their way to the front door, out of it, and down the steps. The street was quite busy in its normal Sunday morning way, and no one paid Allegra and Mars any attention.

Allegra stopped for a minute. The boy's voice was so clear now. The beating in her heart had tensed and worsened. She thought she might be sick, but she never wanted the feeling to go away. She closed her eyes and breathed the same air as he did.

Mars barked; Allegra's eyes shot open. The beating of her heart dropped into her stomach and turned to fear. Mars was running toward the sound of the voices, barking all the way.

"No!" Allegra yelled. "Mars! NO!"

A few passers-by turned their attention to the little girl in the nightdress running after the dog, yelling. _What _did Giovanni Capulet have going on at his house?

Allegra struggled to catch her breath as she caught up with Mars. Luckily, once he'd reached the back of the house, near the river, Mars has settled into a tall group of shrubs.

"Ma_rs_!" Allegra hissed. "You _menace_!"

Agrivated, she flopped onto her stomach and wiggled into the shrubs with Mars, groaning quietly at the sticking green plants and dirt. Her parents were going to be angry. But as soon as she saw the group of boys running across the grass, taking their fight unknowingly nearer and nearer to her, she forgot all else.

And for the first time, her life mattered. She saw him. There he was. She didn't even need to hear him speak, even though he never seemed to stop; it was he.

He was as perfect as she had expected, and looked the same way. He was the most perfect, handsome, strong-looking boy Allegra had ever seen. He was not very tall, and seemed to be about fifteen or sixteen, with quite a skinny body that he was probably growing into. Allegra liked skinny boys, she decided than and there. His hair was brown with no particular shade, wild, spikey, childish. Adorable. Allegra didn't even need to squint to see the color of his eyes. The river made them stand out to her like the green of the grass and trees and pale builidings. His eyes looked like blueberries that had gotten put there to make him see everything differently than everyone else.

Allegra knew she saw the world differently, as well. She watched him. Maybe they saw the world through the same eyes...

"Prepare to die, thou villain!"

Allegra didn't know what had happened at first, because she hadn't seen her brother, Theobald, and almost all of her other cousins there. She understood now. They were all armed, even the boy, and this wasn't a game.

"Ah, no," she whispered. "Mars... the boy is an enemy to the Capulets!"


End file.
